Capitalism pretty much sucks people dry.
Take, for instance, this headline I saw on the front page of the Wall Street Journal this morning...
Frackers Hold Back Production as Oil Nears $100 a Barrel
Prices are the highest since 2014, but top shale companies like Devon and Pioneer are choosing to grow slowly rather than drill more
America’s largest frackers are reporting huge profits but plan to keep oil production in low gear this year, adhering to an agreement with Wall Street, even as prices approach the $100-a-barrel mark for the first time since 2014.
Three of the largest shale companies, Pioneer Natural Resources Co. , Devon Energy Corp. and Continental Resources Inc., this week reported their highest annual profits in more than a decade for 2021. The companies said they collected record amounts of extra cash by hanging on to the money they earn selling oil and natural gas and reinvesting only what they needed to keep output roughly flat. All three said they would continue to limit production growth this year.
(Unfortunately, the link requires a subscription, which I am loath to do.)
What the hell is this "agreement with Wall Street"?? Well, to keep prices artificially high, of course, so hedge funds and investors can rake in the money we slobs at the bottom of the pyramid have to pay.
"Inflation" my ass. (Oh, there's inflation, alright, but not all of it is naturally-occurring.)
This is at the core of Every. Single. Problem. we have right now and the thing the Far Right is, of course, taking such great pains to distract us from.
ReplyDeleteWhen do we reach our Marie Antoinette moment?
Jimbo - The sooner the better as far as I'm concerned.
ReplyDeleteAbout wages, in Europe, Italy is the only country where wages have not increased in the last 20 years!
ReplyDeleteXersex - That's terrible.
ReplyDelete